LR curing question - sitting in water 7 years

duijver · 12/23/2020, 06:43 PM

Hi Everyone,

So, I took a fairly long hiatus after two tank crashes due to extended power outages and I have really been fighting the itch to restart since Covid started.

Now, I still have a lot of my equipment except for the main tank... So, I just picked up a Fluval EVO XII (13.5 G AIO) as a quick way back in.

My question is, how do I deal with my old LR that has been sitting in a water mixture for about 7 years. Should I just add it to the tank after a few SW rinses? More details below.

Shortly after (or maybe before) my breakdown I bathed some of my LR (30-50lbs of a mixed bag of Fiji, Pukani, Tonga, others) with either Muriatic acid or H2O2 35% followed by bleach. I am pretty sure that I did a Vinegar bath as well somewhere in-between or maybe instead of Bleach. Too long to remember.

Then I let it sit with lights off in a heated brute with salt water (I am assuming salt and with high salinity, but I can check that later I guess) with flow for a couple of weeks.

Then the Brute (maybe it was pre-Sandy rock I was cooking) sat in my garage until today. I opened it up and there is a light film on the top of the water, but otherwise the water is crystal clear and I still see quite a fair amount of Coralline algae on the rocks.

I still have LiveSand and before I opened the brute I was thinking about seeding the rock from the ocean.

I appreciate your time and guidance!

duijver · 12/23/2020, 09:34 PM

I snapped a quick photo of one of the rocks in the brute. I am surprised that some algae and the Coraline (maybe dead but not bleached?) survived for 7-8 years without lights, proper heat, or a WC.

duijver · 12/23/2020, 09:35 PM

It seems like this forum will not let me post embedded images, so maybe this will work: https://ibb.co/dKw6VZd

Imaexpat2 · 12/24/2020, 05:00 AM

IDK...if its been sitting that long and it has coraline algae growing maybe its worth a try to put it in a tank with circulation good water and see what happens. I mean you really got nothing to loose.

I definitely wouldnt seed it from the ocean. While that sounds like a good idea on the surface, you might end up "seeding" things into your tank you dont want in there. Its a lot easier to keep bad things out of your new tank than it is to get rid of them once you got them in there!

moondoggy4 · 12/27/2020, 12:02 PM

Get some Fluconazole this great for fighting hair algae and bryoiss.

dochoot · 01/01/2021, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duijver

I snapped a quick photo of one of the rocks in the brute. I am surprised that some algae and the Coraline (maybe dead but not bleached?) survived for 7-8 years without lights, proper heat, or a WC.

Looks surprising good. I would not over treat it. I would put in and see what happens.

12/23/2020, 06:43 PM	#1
duijver Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 37	LR curing question - sitting in water 7 years Hi Everyone, So, I took a fairly long hiatus after two tank crashes due to extended power outages and I have really been fighting the itch to restart since Covid started. Now, I still have a lot of my equipment except for the main tank... So, I just picked up a Fluval EVO XII (13.5 G AIO) as a quick way back in. My question is, how do I deal with my old LR that has been sitting in a water mixture for about 7 years. Should I just add it to the tank after a few SW rinses? More details below. Shortly after (or maybe before) my breakdown I bathed some of my LR (30-50lbs of a mixed bag of Fiji, Pukani, Tonga, others) with either Muriatic acid or H2O2 35% followed by bleach. I am pretty sure that I did a Vinegar bath as well somewhere in-between or maybe instead of Bleach. Too long to remember. Then I let it sit with lights off in a heated brute with salt water (I am assuming salt and with high salinity, but I can check that later I guess) with flow for a couple of weeks. Then the Brute (maybe it was pre-Sandy rock I was cooking) sat in my garage until today. I opened it up and there is a light film on the top of the water, but otherwise the water is crystal clear and I still see quite a fair amount of Coralline algae on the rocks. I still have LiveSand and before I opened the brute I was thinking about seeding the rock from the ocean. I appreciate your time and guidance!

12/23/2020, 09:34 PM	#2
duijver Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 37	I snapped a quick photo of one of the rocks in the brute. I am surprised that some algae and the Coraline (maybe dead but not bleached?) survived for 7-8 years without lights, proper heat, or a WC.

12/23/2020, 09:35 PM	#3
duijver Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 37	It seems like this forum will not let me post embedded images, so maybe this will work: https://ibb.co/dKw6VZd

12/24/2020, 05:00 AM	#4
Imaexpat2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Chagos Arch. Posts: 474	IDK...if its been sitting that long and it has coraline algae growing maybe its worth a try to put it in a tank with circulation good water and see what happens. I mean you really got nothing to loose. I definitely wouldnt seed it from the ocean. While that sounds like a good idea on the surface, you might end up "seeding" things into your tank you dont want in there. Its a lot easier to keep bad things out of your new tank than it is to get rid of them once you got them in there!

12/27/2020, 12:02 PM	#5
moondoggy4 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: menifee So cal Posts: 11,042	Get some Fluconazole this great for fighting hair algae and bryoiss.